


Be Gentle With Me

by ashavahishta



Series: Buddie Tumblr Ficlets [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Ficlet, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29211663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashavahishta/pseuds/ashavahishta
Summary: Buck isn’t talking.They’ve been out of the factory for ten minutes, getting oxygen, checking in on one another. Bobby stands like a sentry at Buck’s side, tense, looking like he’ll take out anyone who tries to interfere with him.Eddie submits to the paramedics from the 132, lets them check his airways and the scrapes on his forearm. All along he watches Buck. He’s slumped on the back of the ambulance, staring ahead and seeing nothing.He isn’t talking. Isn’t moving.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Buddie Tumblr Ficlets [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180229
Comments: 32
Kudos: 552





	Be Gentle With Me

Buck isn’t talking.

They’ve been out of the factory for ten minutes, getting oxygen, checking in on one another. Bobby stands like a sentry at Buck’s side, tense, looking like he’ll take out anyone who tries to interfere with him.

Eddie submits to the paramedics from the 132, lets them check his airways and the scrapes on his forearm. All along he watches Buck. He’s slumped on the back of the ambulance, staring ahead and seeing nothing.

He isn’t talking. Isn’t moving.

There’s a pulse ox on his finger so somebody must have checked him over, right? Buck was inside longer than the rest of them, trapped behind a wall of debris with the last victim.

In the heat. In the smoke.

They got Buck out.

They couldn’t get the victim.

Eddie is finally cleared and makes his way over to Buck and Bobby. Bobby moves to intercept him, puffed up like a guard dog. “He’ll be alright, Eddie.”

“Has he been checked over?” Eddie’s eyes travel worriedly over Buck’s face, the soot embedded in his damp skin. He hasn’t even taken his turnout off. “He was in there way too long, Cap.”

“They said he’s okay,” Bobby says bracingly. “A bit of smoke inhalation, some bruising from his fall.”

“But -” Eddie bites his lip. It’s not that he doesn’t trust the 132. They have the same training he does - arguably more. But he’s desperate to get his hands on Buck, check him over for himself. Make sure he’s alright. Make sure he’s _real._

(Because for a good ten minutes Eddie thought he was gone. Thought Buck had been swallowed up by the flames. For ten minutes Eddie stood, jaw clenched, fighting down panic and terror and downright devastation at the knowledge that Buck was in danger and there was nothing he could _do_.)

Buck still hasn’t moved. He hasn’t even acknowledged the conversation happening barely a foot from him.

That scares Eddie more than anything.

He looks up to meet Bobby’s eyes, sees fear and sadness and fierce protectiveness.

“Please, Cap.”

Bobby just watches him for a moment longer, then steps aside.

Eddie is slow as he approaches Buck, steps into his eyeline and waits for Buck to look at him.

He doesn’t.

Buck’s got this awful vacant expression on his face, his eyes deadened and unfocused.

Frankly, it’s kind of terrifying.

(Eddie doesn’t know what happened inside. He knows they didn’t get the last victim out. Did Buck watch a man die tonight? Did Buck lose someone after doing everything in his power to save them? What has he seen? They might never know.)

“Buck,” Eddie tries. Gentle. Quiet. “Hey. Can I check you over?”

That same dead stare. Eddie’s worry increases. Could the 132 have somehow missed a head injury? Or is Buck dissociating, switched off to deal with whatever happened inside?

“Buck,” he says again. He curls his fingers around Buck’s chin and tilts his head slightly, trying to get Buck to meet his eyes. “It’s me. Can you look at me?”

It takes a moment for Buck’s eyes to flicker and finally make contact with Eddie’s own. They’re a flinty grey in the dim light, so unlike the bright sky blue Eddie is used to.

Buck’s throat works as he swallows. “Eddie.” Voice flat. Defeated.

“Hey, Buck. How are you doing, huh? Can I look you over real quick?”

Eddie’s voice has dropped into the quiet, soothing tones he uses when Christopher is sick, his touch soft as he continues to cradle Buck’s jaw.

Buck’s eyes flicker again, this time in confusion. “The 132 already…”

“I know. Just…wanna see for myself. Is that okay?”

A minute shrug. Eddie takes that as permission.

He’s so, so careful as he performs his exam. Tilts Buck’s head to look into his eyes, assess his pupils, check for bumps on his skull. Asks him what day it is. What’s his birthday. What did he do yesterday. Shines a flashlight down his throat to see if his airways are swollen. Gentle fingers push aside Buck’s turnout to probe at his chest, looking for bruising, cracked ribs, internal bleeding. Stethoscope on his back, listening for labored breathing.

And Buck just…lets him. Moves where Eddie asks. Answers his questions in that same robotic voice. It’s not _Buck_ though. Like somebody put on a Buck suit, a mask.

Eddie finds nothing of concern. Buck’s scraped up a little, but his lungs sound clear, his answers are coherent and he’s not reporting any pain.

He’s forced to stop, then. He has no other excuse to be touching Buck, except his own need for reassurance. Eddie releases him, begins to back away when Buck grabs his wrist.

“I had him,” wide eyes staring into Eddie’s, imploring. “I _had_ him, Eddie.”

“I know,” it’s all Eddie can say. And he gives in, finally, lets go of whatever stupid excuse was holding him back. He folds Buck into his arms, cradling the back of his head as Buck buries his face in his chest and begins to cry. His fingers sift through Buck’s damp curls and all Eddie can do is hold him.

“I know you did, Buck.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @ ashavahishta! Please come say hi :)


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